Why manual entry breaks expense tracking habits
The biggest reason people stop tracking expenses isn't willpower — it's friction. When logging a transaction means opening an app, finding the right cashbook, typing a merchant name, entering an amount, and picking a category, it's easier to skip it. By the end of the week, you've lost track of $200 in receipts.
Folko's receipt scanner removes that friction entirely. You scan while you're still at the register. The transaction is logged before you put your phone away. The habit sticks because the effort is nearly zero.
How the scanner works
Open the scanner
Tap the camera icon when adding a transaction, or long-press the quick-add button on the home screen. The scanner opens immediately without additional prompts.
Aim at the receipt
Hold the receipt flat under reasonable lighting. Folko's viewfinder guides you to capture the full receipt. You don't need to be perfectly aligned — the OCR engine handles slight angles and folds.
OCR extracts the key fields
Folko's server-side OCR reads the receipt and extracts: the total amount (net and gross where present), the merchant name, the transaction date, and the currency. It looks for the total line specifically — not a subtotal or tax line — using trained receipt structure models.
Review and confirm
A pre-filled transaction draft appears. You can correct any field before saving. Assign a category, split the expense with cashbook members if needed, and tap Save. The original receipt image is attached to the transaction for reference.
Receipt stored for your records
The scanned image is stored securely alongside the transaction. When you export reports as PDF or Excel, receipt images can be embedded so your accountant or employer has everything they need.
Where it saves the most time
Business travel
Scan hotel bills, taxis, and client dinners the moment they happen. Export a reimbursement report at the end of the trip — receipts attached.
Grocery runs
Scan the supermarket receipt at checkout. Folko logs the total and lets you split it across household members in seconds.
Dining out
Scan the restaurant bill before everyone chips in. Smart Settle handles who owes what without anyone pulling out a calculator.
Contractor expenses
Log materials, fuel, and tool purchases as they happen. PDF reports formatted for client invoicing are one tap away.
What the scanner can read
The OCR engine is trained on receipts from major point-of-sale systems across retail, hospitality, food service, and transport. It handles:
15 languages
Receipts in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Italian are all supported — matching Folko's app language support.
150+ currencies
The currency symbol or code on the receipt is detected automatically. If you're abroad, Folko can convert the scanned amount to your home currency using the current daily exchange rate.
Thermal and laser prints
Both thermal paper receipts (the kind that fade over time) and laser-printed invoices are handled. Digital receipts captured via screenshot also work.
Frequently asked questions
What types of receipts can Folko scan?
Folko works with printed receipts from grocery stores, restaurants, petrol stations, pharmacies, and most retail point-of-sale systems. It also handles digital receipts via screenshot and supports receipts printed in any of Folko's 15 supported languages. Handwritten notes are not currently supported.
Does receipt scanning work offline?
The OCR processing runs on Folko's servers, so an active internet connection is needed at scan time. If you're offline, you can queue the scan and Folko will process it automatically the next time you reconnect. The raw image is stored locally until it can be submitted.
Which tiers include receipt scanning?
Receipt scanning is available on Supporter and Patron tiers. Supporter starts at $1/month or $10/year. Patron starts at $5/month or $48/year, and both are also available as lifetime purchases ($100 and $250 respectively). The free tier includes unlimited manual transaction entry with no feature restrictions other than the cashbook and member limits.